Saturday, September 29, 2007

Something I drooled over back in my high school dayswhile reading those James Bond novels by Ian Flemingis now an everyday reality for just under $200. Yes, whatwas once the exclusive domain of Secret Agent 007 is nowin the hands of today's voyeurs, eavesdroppers and viralvideo buffs. And I'm still drooling.....

Yahoo Tech Diva Gina Hughes reviews the world'ssmallest camcorderthat fits inside a pack of gum, stores 1GB of video andcan hold a charge for up to two hours of videorecording time. The item which is available fromSpy Gadgets.com just might be sold out since theirwebsite is currently experiencing too many hits fromusers like myself. Keep trying.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Eat meat ? You'll have to cheat to get that apartment you'vebeen meaning to rent - if you're a meat-eater in Mumbai.Seems unheard-of, but your status as a Vegetarian can makeall the difference in getting your foot over the threshold ofyour new digs. According toAmelia Gentleman who writesfor IHT.com :"While Mumbai is one of India's most cosmopolitan cities,much of its housing is splintered along ethnic and religiouslines. There are predominantly Muslim, Roman Catholic andHindu areas. And then there are extensive vegetarian-onlystretches, some of which occupy desirable patches of realestate along the waterfront."

Read the story of Shailaja Hazare who lives the secret lifeof a Non-Vegetarian....

I'm Non-Veg but that won't stop me from sharing this picof my favorite American Idol Carrie Underwoodwho was named 'World's Sexiest Vegetarian'by Peta.Org back in June 2007, and here'sAlicia Sliverstone the latest Peta spokespersonlooking very healthy indeed....then check outVeg Source.Org

Sensory overload for some of us fromThe Official Buzz from Blogger ...." Blogger Play will show you a never-ending stream ofimages that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs.You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog postit was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlaywith the post title, a snippet of the body, and some profileinformation about the blogger who uploaded it."

Sunday, September 23, 2007

The right way to do the Plank pose as shown byMia. Although I am not a practicing Yoga studentI have a few moves which are rooted in Yoga that help me loosen up/ breathe better andmake me feel more fit in general. I'll share thosemoves with you all one of these days, but in themeantime I'll keep bringing you the great stuffonline from the pros at Body Architect TV.

Ahhhh....Houston, my wonderful, 'safe' residence for thepast 11 years. Family-friendly, too. But not too animal-friendly.Here y'all can walk into a store and buy guns and bullets overthe counter. Got you a couple kids you want to bring up asproper Texans ? Take 'em to the Gun Show and Convention,along with yer prized hunting rifle slung across yer shoulder.Jes' make sure yew ain't late at the butchers' when yew bringthem deer carcasses to be ground for table venison, thelines' gittin' longer every year !

Takes a two-legged varmint to git them fow-legged ones offufyer land....but we ain't gawn touch them nekkid Hollywoodnymphos nohow. This heah is the reel South, see, and y'all needto show a young lady sum rispeck, now, y' heahh ?

Monday, September 17, 2007

We all love coming across cool new sites that offerfreebies, especially if they are easy to use.So surfing around the web today I found a neat clock forthis blog and am still going through all the other usefulstuff over at Poodwaddle.com. You really shouldcheck out the Free Menu because there's somethingin there for everyone !ClocksCalendarsCounters and QuizzesMedia PlayersCalculatorsGames

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My earliest recollection of Joe Zawinul's music was fromthe early '70s when his composition 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy'**was used as the background music to host Willis Conover'sVoice of America (VOA) broadcasts in India.***( A sample of Willis Conover's deep voice introducing theMiles Davis Group is here )Those sparse but soul-ridden opening notes are etched in mymemory and themselves serve as backdrop to the pages of mylife, when I was an aspiring guitarist in search of the meaning oflife as a musician.

I saw Joe Zawinul with Weather Report 'featuring' bassistJaco Pastorius back in '77 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic,New Jersey. Of course I was blown away by Jaco's anticswhich accompanied his already-legendary style. But to aurallywitness Mr. Zawinul who was surrounded by a myriad of keyboardsand electronics which he effortlessly toyed with while producingother-worldly sounds...Ahhhh....I was in heaven on this, my mostfavorite concert night ever !So now, a sad farewell to a magician ofthe keys who unfailingly provided some of the most far-outWorld Fusion sounds ever.

Goodbye to Joe Zawinul who passed away from Cancer at theage of 75 in Vienna, on an auspicious Sept. 11th.Birthday celebration YouTube video from 7-7-07 in Switzerland

**Related quote from Keybardist Herbie Hancock:"For a white Viennese boy to write a tune that's that black is pretty remarkable," Hancock says. "He just captured the essence of the African-American heritage, just the statement of melody and feeling of that song. Clearly, in some past life, Joe must've been black."

***Strangely enough, like Joe Zawinul, Mr. Conover passed away in1996 at the age of 75, also from a battle with cancer.

As the temperature went up this summer, ONE memberslike you didn't stay in to beat the heat. In the month ofAugust, ONE members organized dozens of in-districtlobbying meetings with members of Congress and sentmore than 90,000 letters to back those meetings up.

In those meetings, you advocated for poverty-fightinglegislation that offers practical solutions to problemsthat keep millions trapped in poverty—from thewomen-empowering GROWTH Act to the Educationfor All Act, which would help a generation of childrenget access to a real education.

You also stepped-up and responded to a special call toadvocate for the lifesaving Global Child Survival Act.Your letters in support of the Global Child Survival Actsent a very clear message: It is unacceptable that 30,000children die everyday of preventable causes. The GlobalChild Survival Act would make investments in low-costbut effective lifesaving interventions, like immunizations,vitamins, and basic sanitation. ONE members representthe will of an American people that are ready to act.

Thank you. Your efforts reminded politicians in Washingtonthat there are millions of Americans who want to do the rightthing and lead the fight against global poverty.

The only thing more impressive than the sheer numberof letters and lobbying meetings is the impact they had.The blog posts ONE members submitted about their meetingswith members of Congress show just how effective ourgrassroots lobbying can be.

...seven ONE activists took turns briefing [Democratic]Rep. Davis on three pieces of legislation: The Educationfor All Act, The Global Child Survival Act, and theGROWTH Act...

Rep. Davis, commented that this legislation builds a"case for American values." He said that there is aperception "that America is no longer interested inmarginalized people around the world."

Davis' district consists of some of the poorest countiesin the US where as much as 30-40% of the populationlive below the poverty line. Davis says he is sometimesasked how he can spend time on global poverty issueswhen the needs at home are so great. He respondedthat "in a strong country, addressing poverty abroadand poverty at home should not be an either/or issuebut a both/and issue..."

And Rep. Davis said that he "would be happy toco-sponsor" these three important pieces of legislation.We hit the TRIFECTA!

There is more work to be done and I look forward tocontinuing to press for American leadership in the fightagainst global poverty and disease. But when the daycomes that we can celebrate victories on critical legislationlike the Global Child Survival Act, I hope you'll rememberthat it was the good work of ONE members taking actionearly and often that made it all possible.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Recently found on the web. Relates to my father's artwork at the time, when he was working for the Indian film industry. If you come across this Soviet-Indian film you will catch me in approx. 12 seconds of the film, which was shot in Worli, Mumbai. I lived a few yards away from the film set and like the boys in the left side of the poster spent most days playing in the seaface. Originally I was scooped into the arms of the 'Pardesi' (foreigner) ship captain whose damaged boat lands in Indian waters. However that scene was chopped up so that all you see of me is a small boy with a loin cloth of sorts, no shirt, barefoot, running across the screen. It amazes me how this stays in my memory always, but if you had spent days on a movie set with all the cast and crew when you should have been in school, I suppose you would carry that memory with you too. Unless you have a poor memory for your childhood years.

The movie was held up for Soviet/Indian post-production and only released in 1957 according to IMDB.com if they are to be believed. My Dad did get IMDB credit for a couple of movies recently.